McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC suspended operations in Russia. At the beginning of the conflict, the global leader in flavor had stopped its advertising and promotional activity as well as other investments across Russia.

McCormick put a pause on its operations across Ukraine, keeping in mind the safety of employees and their families in the region. The company is supporting the Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM) and the World Central Kitchen to offer aid amid the crisis. Management highlighted that it would continue to monitor the evolving situation.

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Several other Consumer Staple companies like The Coca-Cola Company KO, Philip Morris International Inc. PM and Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. NUS are also suspending or scaling down their businesses in Russia due to the turmoil.

On Mar 9, 2022, Philip Morris suspended its planned investments in the Russian Federation. This includes all new product launches along with investments related to innovation, commercial and manufacturing. Additionally, PM initiated plans to reduce its manufacturing operations in Russia due to the ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks and the changing regulatory landscape due to the Ukraine conflict. Last month, the company also announced the temporary suspension of its operations in Ukraine, including its factory in Kharkiv.

On Mar 8, 2022, Coca-Cola announced that it is suspending its business across Russia. KO highlighted that it would continue to monitor and assess the situation as the situation evolves. Coca-Cola stated, “Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine.”Given the challenging and volatile situation hampering Nu Skin’s business operations, management suspended its operations across Russia effective Mar 4, 2022. Nu Skin, which believes in empowering people to improve lives, is devastated to see the tragedy unfold in Ukraine.

Coming back to McCormick’s latest announcements, let’s see how these actions impact the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s performance in the near term. Shares of McCormick have inched down 0.1% so far this year compared with the industry’s decline of 7.1%. Shares of Coca-Cola, Philip Morris and Nu Skin have dropped 2.1%, 6.4% and 7.6%, respectively, during this time. Currently, PM and NUS both carry a Zacks Rank #3, while KO carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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